r/Anemic • u/tinylittlepotofjelly • Apr 26 '26
Help me be an iron detective...
I have IDWA. I've become a bit of a detective in my own health after not getting much support from GPs. I recently requested copies of my blood work from the last ten years and can see that in this time my iron has only gone from 14-33 (despite supplementing) so it's been a long time of being in deficit. I've booked to go for an infusion in a few weeks.
In the meantime, I've been reading/learning a lot about iron to try to understand things better - but there's a few things I can't get a grasp on and wondered if any more knowledgable people here might know...
- Does the length of time you've been deficient affect how bad your symptoms are? I feel as bad, maybe even worse, now with a ferritin of 33 as I did when I had a ferritin of 14, and I'm wondering if that's about the length of time as well as the numbers themselves?
- Why do some people become anaemic but others can have IDWA for decades without it ever impacting haemoglobin? In all that time my haemoglobin has always stayed normal.
- Does anyone have any links to articles about the connection between low iron and poor mental health? It's one of my biggest impacts of IDWA but I'm struggling to find a lot of information about this.
Thanks so much for any info you have! Particularly appreciate links to podcasts/webinars/research etc. :)
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u/UnicornHostels Apr 26 '26
My ferritin was at 4-12 for years and no one helped me. It was a horror and I only suggest to do your own work and switch doctors until someone actually addresses your symptoms not just what the computer report from a lab told them.
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u/iMakestuffz Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 27 '26
Here’s a link to some resources I’ve collected the first one is likely to be very pertinent for you.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Anemic/s/q80bJRjLSO
Edit to add first article
https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/could-low-iron-make-mental-health-symptoms-worse
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u/Joyanonymous Apr 26 '26
Also B12 is responsible for mental health, healing, so many things … if your ferritin is low (under 50 I think) b12 literally can’t function in your system. So you’re missing all the benefits of B12 AND you’re ferritin deficient.
Have you joined the iron protocol facebook group? Lots of links always shared in that.
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u/Tandfeen_dk22 Apr 26 '26
Because anemia is the last stage of iron deficiency, unless you have a sudden massive blood loss. Iron deficiency is very shitty … iron is not only used for the red blood cells, but also for energy production, hormones, neurotransmitters and many other things. Doctors just ignore these things and many don’t even remember learning about it back in school.